Royal New Zealand Yacht Squadron Take The Day In The Minor Placings

Bavaria International Youth Match Racing 2005

Sydney, Australia

Day three of the Bavaria International Youth Match Racing Regatta decided the final positions for places five to ten, with a six boat round robin series shaking up the placings from the previous two days. The Royal New Zealand Yacht Squadron team, skippered by Phil ROBERTSON, moved up the pointscore to fifth overall while Nina CURTIS, leading an all girl crew from Royal Prince Alfred Yacht Club, fought hard to finish seventh.

Robertson and his crew of Richard KENDALL and Samantha OSBORNE were undefeated on their final day of racing. The only mixed crew of the competition, they showed consistent improvement and out performed some tough competition in the final races today to move from seventh to fifth overall.

Fellow New Zealand youth sailors, led by Theo MCDONNELL and representing the Royal Port Nicholson Yacht Club, also sailed consistently in this morning's lighter north-easterly breeze.

The leader of the minor placings heading into today's racing, Hamish ROUGHLEY from the Royal Prince Alfred Yacht Club, gave a strong performance but his loss to ROBERTSON in the first flight relegated his team to sixth place.

ROUGHLEY, who over the last two days fought back to regain the lead in many of his matches, showed particular determination against fellow RPAYC member Nina CURTIS. ROUGHLEY and CURTIS battled for control in the pre-start but despite lots of 'Y' flagging, no penalties were given. This changed at the bottom of the first downwind run of their final race when ROUGHLEY held CURTIS out at the bottom mark, delivering her two penalties before rounding for the last lap of the course.

Today's light conditions gave teams plenty of opportunities to demonstrate a different set of skills. Teams often found themselves in closer quarters with their competitors and gains were delivered to those able to combine smooth boat handling and rules knowledge. A greater focus was needed on speed than in previous days as a loss of momentum proved costly, especially in pre-start engagements.

Tomorrow's semi-finals will begin at 10.00am with the finals later tomorrow afternoon deciding the top placings in the Bavaria International Youth Match Racing Regatta.